2024年10月，美国美属萨摩亚（一个未建制的美国领土）的最高法院作出了一项令人震惊的裁决，但这一裁决几乎没有受到媒体的关注。法院裁定：由于美属萨摩亚属于未建制的地区，因此《美国宪法》第二修正案中规定的“持有和携带武器的权利”并不适用于该地区。这一裁决实际上使得美属萨摩亚几乎实施了全面的枪支禁令。唐纳德·特朗普总统及美国内政部长道格·伯格姆必须立即撤销这一裁决。
In October 2024, the High Court of American Samoa, an unincorporated territory of the United States, issued a staggering ruling that received little media attention. The justices ruled that, since American Samoa is unincorporated, the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms does not apply there. The ruling allowed a near-total gun ban to take effect. President Donald Trump and Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum can and must reverse this immediately.
关于美国领土的相关法律较为复杂，因此一些背景信息可能会有所帮助：美国共有50个州以及多个领土，包括波多黎各、关岛、美属维尔京群岛、北马里亚纳群岛和美属萨摩亚。哥伦比亚特区虽然不属于美国的一个州，但根据《美国宪法》第23条修正案，它仍拥有三个总统选举投票权。这些领土在国会中没有任何代表权；不过，来自这些领土的代表可以担任国会委员会的成员，例如在参议院弹劾审判期间担任众议院的临时管理者。
The issue of territories is obscure, so some background is helpful. The United States has 50 states and several territories, including Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Northern Mariana Islands and American Samoa. The District of Columbia also is not a state; however, unlike the other territories, it receives three electoral votes for the presidency pursuant to the 23rd Amendment.
这些领土通常都设有自己的法院（例如波多黎各地区法院和美属维尔京群岛地区法院）。这些法院的法官由总统提名，随后由参议院批准任命。根据《美国宪法》第四条的规定，这些法官的任期为10年，当事人可以对法院的裁决提出上诉。当这些领土的政府行为侵犯了宪法赋予的权利时，个人或司法部可以将其告上联邦法院。
None of these territories receives voting representation in Congress, though delegates from the territories can sit on congressional committees and, for instance, serve as managers for the House during a Senate impeachment trial. These territories generally have courts, such as the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico and the U.S. District Court for the District of the Virgin Islands. Presidents nominate judges to these courts, and the Senate confirms them. As Article IV judges, those on these courts serve with a tenure of 10 years, and litigants may appeal their rulings through the relevant circuits.
去年，特朗普政府的司法部正是这样做的——他们指控美属维尔京群岛颁布的枪支管制措施违反了《美国宪法》第二修正案的规定。律师击败夏威夷枪支法后称该州依赖“黑人法典”实属“耻辱”美属萨摩亚在司法及其他方面与其他领地有所不同。与其他所有领地不同，没有任何法规赋予在美属萨摩亚出生的人出生公民权。
When territories violate constitutional rights, individual litigants or the Justice Department can sue them in federal court. President Trump's Justice Department did precisely that last year, accusing the U.S. Virgin Islands of enacting gun restrictions that run afoul of the Second Amendment. LAWYER WHO BEAT HAWAII GUN LAW CALLS STATE’S RELIANCE ON BLACK CODE ‘DISGRACEFUL’ American Samoa differs judicially and in other ways from the other territories.
美属萨摩亚也没有联邦法院，这与其他领地不同。美属萨摩亚高等法院是该领地的最高司法权威。《美国法典》第48编第1661条赋予总统对美属萨摩亚的民事、军事和司法控制权。哈里·杜鲁门总统于1951年签署的行政命令将领地管理权授予内政部长。美属萨摩亚领地宪法第三条第三款赋予内政部长任命高等法院法官的权力。
No statute grants birthright citizenship to those born in American Samoa, unlike every other territory. American Samoa also has no federal court, unlike other territories. The High Court of American Samoa serves as the ultimate judicial authority in that territory. 48 U.S.C. § 1661 vests the president with civil, military and judicial control over American Samoa. A 1951 executive order by President Harry Truman delegated authority over the territory to the secretary of the interior. Article III, Section 3 of American Samoa's territorial constitution grants the secretary of the interior the power to appoint justices to the High Court.
这些法官不享有终身任职，这与联邦法官“终身任职，除非行为不端”不同。内政部长可无故免除美属萨摩亚法官职务，并任命继任者，无需参议院确认。
These justices serve no life tenure, unlike federal judges who serve during good behavior. The secretary can remove American Samoa justices without cause and appoint replacements without Senate confirmation.
特朗普总统和伯格姆部长必须针对法院针对第二修正案的裁决采取行动。该修正案是共和国的基石，最高法院最近在沃尔福德诉洛佩兹案中重申了其效力。夏威夷决定不遵守最高法院最近关于第二修正案的判例。它实施了一套荒谬的限制性隐蔽携带制度，规定持枪者只能将武器带入明确张贴许可标志的财产。夏威夷最高法院依靠（除其他荒谬理由外）所谓的“阿罗哈精神”来为这种侵权行为辩护。
President Trump and Secretary Burgum must act in light of the court's ruling against the Second Amendment. That amendment stands as a cornerstone of the Republic, and the Supreme Court reaffirmed its vitality recently in Wolford v. Lopez. Hawaii decided that it did not wish to comply with the Supreme Court's recent Second Amendment precedents. It implemented an absurdly restrictive concealed-carry regime under which gun owners could bring their weapons onto properties only where signs expressly permitted them. The Hawaii Supreme Court relied on, among other ridiculous rationales, the so-called "Aloha Spirit" to justify this infringement.
夏威夷辩称，在建州之前，不存在持枪权。最高法院驳回了这一理由，其三位自由派大法官持异议。第二修正案在夏威夷的适用程度，正如在芝加哥、纽约和哥伦比亚特区一样。
Hawaii argued that, prior to statehood, no right to gun ownership existed. The Supreme Court, over a dissent from its three liberal justices, rejected that rationale. The Second Amendment applies just as much in Hawaii as it does in Chicago, New York and the District of Columbia.
在最高法院确认第二修正案赋予公民的权利后，美国司法部通过两起诉讼针对《斯潘伯格法案》（Spanberger Act）和《纽索姆法案》（Newsom Act）采取了行动。在美国萨摩亚，其实根本不需要提起诉讼。根据《美国法典》第1661条赋予总统的广泛权力，特朗普总统和伯格姆部长有权推翻这一荒谬的裁决。联邦法院在多起案件中都支持了这一权力；不过最高法院从未正式讨论过这个问题。
DOJ TARGETS SPANBERGER, NEWSOM GUN LAWS WITH TWIN LAWSUITS AFTER SCOTUS AFFIRMS SECOND AMENDMENT RIGHTS No lawsuit is even necessary in American Samoa. The broad authority Congress granted the president under Section 1661 empowers President Trump and Secretary Burgum to overrule this egregious decision. Federal courts have upheld this overruling authority in several cases, though the Supreme Court has never addressed the question squarely. Beyond firing the justices and appointing new ones who respect the Constitution, President Trump should make clear in an executive order that the Second Amendment applies with equal force in American Samoa as it does in states and other territories.
除了解雇那些不尊重宪法的大法官并任命新的法官外，特朗普总统还应通过行政命令明确表示：第二修正案在美国萨摩亚与在美国各州及其他领土上具有同等的法律效力。
If the High Court of American Samoa one day decreed that the First Amendment is inapplicable there — thus permitting the imprisonment of government critics — justifiable outrage would follow, even though American Samoa is only a territory.
如果美国萨摩亚的最高法院有一天裁定第一修正案在该地区不适用（从而允许政府批评者被监禁），那必将引发公众的强烈抗议——尽管美国萨摩亚只是一个领土。第一修正案是整个美国的根本基石；第二修正案也不例外，无论那些反对枪支管制的人如何试图掩盖这一事实。目前美国萨摩亚最高法院的大法官们已经彻底剥夺了第二修正案的法律效力。政府拥有简单、迅速且合法的补救措施，必须立即采取行动。（点击此处阅读迈克·戴维斯的更多报道。）
The First Amendment is foundational to the Republic. The Second Amendment is no different, no matter how hard anti-gun zealots work to obscure that truth. The current justices of the High Court of American Samoa have stripped it of any force whatsoever. The administration holds a simple, swift and lawful remedy, and they must use it. CLICK FOR MORE FROM MIKE DAVIS